I watched Rathalos stripe the sky and my party fall silent; you feel the room shrink when a wrong armor choice shows its teeth. My hands hovered over the gear screen while the hunt timer ticked down. That split second taught me to stop guessing and start collecting with intention.
I’ve spent hours testing set swaps, reading Capcom patch notes, and skimming strategy threads on Reddit and the Nintendo Switch Discord so you don’t have to. I’ll point to the exact armors, where you get them, and how their skills change a fight. Treat this as a field map: quick, precise, and focused on what matters when the monster charges.
All armors in Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflections and how to unlokc them
In most game inventories, the same few pieces keep reappearing on players’ avatars; heavier plates and scarred pelts tell stories before the skills do.
You’ll find everything below grouped by element so you can match a set to the enemy you’re facing. I recommend bookmarking this page on your Switch browser or saving a screenshot—switching sets mid-expedition is often the difference between a clean win and a trip back to camp. Your loadout must act as a Swiss Army knife when the fight twists, and these tables show which blade to pull when it does.
How do I get every armor in Monster Hunter Stories 3?
Most armor is obtained by defeating the named monster at least once (story variants usually don’t count) or by finding recipe materials in treasure chests. For special sets—like the Rimeguard or Tentacle—you’ll need a single drop from Velkhana or Namielle respectively; that material converts into the full set via crafting. If you’re hunting rare materials, check community trackers, Capcom patch notes, and the in-game crafting menus to confirm required parts.
Which armors have the highest defense value?
Two pieces sit at the top of the defense chart with 174: Rimeguard (requires any Velkhana material) and Tentacle (requires any Namielle material). Several others hit the 170 mark—Gravios U, Arkvulcan, Malzeno—so prioritize them for endgame fights that trade speed for survivability.
How do armor skills change a fight?
Armor skills modify how you approach an enemy: some raise elemental resistance, others boost kinship damage, and a handful alter battle tempo with stamina or evasion boosts. I watch skill names for two things—synergy with my monstie and redundancy with the rest of my set—then decide whether to favor raw defense or utility. For community-tested combos, check Capcom’s forums and active Discord channels where speedrunners and theorycrafters share specific pairings.
Normal Element
| Name | How to Unlock | Defense Value | Skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arzuros | Defeat an Arzuros | 82 | All-Elem Def Boost (M)Item Saver (S) |
| Alloy | Receive as a recipe from a Teasure Chest | 68 | Critical (S)Water Atk Boost (S) |
| Barroth | Defeat a Barroth | 122 | Potential (M)Instigator (M) |
| Gravios U | Defeat a Black Gravios | 170 | Potential (L)Antiburn (L)Dragon Buster (M) |
Fire Element
| Name | How to Unlock | Defense Value | Skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkvulcan | Defeat an Arkveld outside the one you encounter during the story | 170 | Synchronize (XL)Stamina Surge (L)Tenacity (M) |
| Ajakaran | Defeat an Ajakaran | 128 | Bombardier (M)Blightproof (M)Partbreaker (S |
| Azure | Gain as a recipe from Treasure Chest | 116 | All-Elem Def Boost (M)Panacea (M)Potential (M) |
| Aknosom | Defeat an Aknosom | 100 | Fire Atk Boost (M)Dancer (S) |
| Anja | Defeat an Anjanth | 82 | Fire Def Boost (M)Vicious (S) |
| Brachydios | Defeat a Brachydios | 150 | Bombardier (L)Vicious (M)Tenacity (S) |
| Barioth U | Defeat a Sand Barioth | 164 | Darkness Resistance (L)Evasion Instinct (L)Evasion Ability (L) |
| Bishaten U | Defeat a Blood Orange Bishaten | 138 | Fire Def Boost (M)Antiburn (M)Vigilance (M) |
| Diablos | Defeat a Diablos | 140 | Potential (L)Heroics (M)Vigilance (M) |
| Diablos Nero | Defeat a Black Diablos | 162 | Slugger (L)Partbreaker (M)Dragon Buster (M) |
| Espinas | Defeat an Espinas | 150 | Inflict Rate Up (L)Salt In Wound (M)Partbreaker (S) |
| Gravios | Defeat a Gravios | 144 | All-Elem Def Boost (L)Insomniac (L)Instigator (L) |
| Glavenus | Defeat a Glavenus (Horned variant doesn’t qualify) | 148 | Elemental Breaker (L)Elemental Assault (M) |
| Garuga | Defeat a Yian Garuga | 132 | Vicious (M)Inflict Rate Up (M)Antivenom (S) |
| Izuchi | Defeat a Great Izuchi | N/A | Critical (S)Stamina Boost (S)Quick (S) |
| Kut-Kn U | Defeat a Blue Yian Kut-Kn | 68 | Fire Atk Boost (S)Critical (S) |
| Kut-Kn | Defeat a Yian Kut-Kn | 62 | Fire Def Boost (S)Antiburn (S) |
| Odogaron | Defeat an Odogaron | 124 | Antibleed (L)Stamina Boost (S)Stamina Surge (S) |
| Rath Soul | Defeat a Pink Rathian | 168 | Critical (XL)Critical Kinship (L)All-Out (L) |
| Rathalos | Defeat a Rathalos | 150 | Partbreaker (L)Fire ATk Boost (L)Soul Kinship (M) |
| Rakna | Defeat a Rakna-Kadaki | 132 | Stamina Boost (M)Stamina Surge (M)Rath Heart |
| Rath Heart | Defeat an Azure Rathalos | 108 | Self-Heal (M)Crit-Heal (M) |
| Ranger | Default | 52 | Den Protector (S) |
| Rathian | Defeat a Rathian | N/A | Den Protector (S)Health Boost (S) |
| Regios | Defeat a Seregios | 164 | Critical (L)Antibleed (L)Evasion Ability (M) |
| Sinister | Defeat a Magnamalo apart from the story boss fight | 162 | HtH Master (XL)Blightproof (L)Fortify (M) |
| Tigrex | Defeat a Tigrex | 136 | HtH Master (M)Potential (M)Dragon Buster (S) |
| Tigrex U | Defeat a Bruite Tigrex | 168 | Non-Elem Atk Boost (L)Kinship Skill+ (L)Fortify (L) |
Water Element
| Name | How to Unlock | Defense Value | Skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| Almudron | Defeat an Almudron outside the one in the story | 118 | Elemental Assault (M)Elemental Breaker (M) |
| Damascus | Can be found in a Treasure Chest | 164 | All-Elem Def Boost (L)Panacea (M)Tenacity (S) |
| Edel | Can be found in a Treasure Chest | 82 | Antivenom (M)Item Saver (M)Elemental Assault (XL) |
| Golm | Defeat a Garangolm | 134 | All-Out (L)All-Elem Def Boost (M) |
| Ludroth U | Defeat a Purple Royal Ludroth | 108 | Antivenom (L)Salt In Wound (M)Water Atk Boost (S) |
| Lumu | Defeat a Paolumu | 62 | Divine Blessing (S)Stamina Surge (S) |
| Leather | Available by default | 54 | Synchronize (S) |
| Ludroth | Defeat a Ludroth | 62 | Water Def Boost (S)Sealbreaker (S) |
| Malzeno | Defeat a Malzeno | 170 | Self-Heal (XL)Weak Point (L)Crit-Heal (M) |
| Mizutsune | Defeat a Mizutsune | 138 | Dancer (M)Evasion Ability (M)Water AtkBoost (M) |
| Plesioth | Defeat a Plesioth | 102 | All-Out (M)Water Def Boost (M)Den Protector (S) |
| Pukei-Pukei | Defeat a Pukei-Pukei | 82 | Antivenom (M)Inflict Rate Up (M)Item Saver (S) |
| Plesioth U | Defeat a Green Plesioth | 132 | Water Atk Boost (M)Synchronize (M)Stamina Boost (S) |
| Somnacanth | Defeat a Somnacanth | 100 | Inflict Rate Up (M)Insoniac (M)Salt In Wound (S) |
| Tentacle | Acquire any Namielle material | 174 | All-Out (XL)Stamina Boost (L)Stamina Surge (L) |
| Tetranadon | Defeat a Tetranadon | 82 | Stamina Boost (M)Stamina Surge (S)Water Atk Boost (S) |
Ice Element
| Name | How to Obtain | Defense Value | Skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barroth U | Defeat a Jade Barroth | 154 | Anti 1-Hit KO (L)Slugger (M)Potential (M) |
| Blango | Defeat a Blango | 138 | Ice Def Boost (L)Elemental Breaker (M) |
| Barioth | Defeat a Barioth | 160 | Sealbreaker (L)Critical (L)Partbreaker (M) |
| Goss Harag | Defeat a Goss Harag | 164 | Heroics (L)Dragon Buster (L)Health Boost (M) |
| High Metal | Can be obtained from a Treasure Chest | 138 | Health Boost (L)Anti 1-Hit KO (M) |
| Hunter | Available by default | 54 | Non-ElemDef Boost (S) |
| Kululu | Defeat a Kulu-Ya-Ku | 118 | Slugger (M)Critical (S) |
| Lunagaron | Defeat a Lunagaron | 162 | Vigilance (L)Evasion Instinct (L)Heroics (M) |
| Legiana | Defeat a Legiana | 160 | Quick (L)Ice Atk Boost (L)Divine Blessing (M) |
| Nargacuga | Defeat a Nargacuga | 132 | Evasion Ability (L)Critical (M)Quick (S) |
| Nargacuga U | Defeat a Nargacuga | 154 | Evasion Instinct (L)Quick (L)Stamina Surge (M) |
| Rimeguard | Defeat a Velkhana and obtain any material | 174 | Kinship Skill+ (XL)Panacea (L)Divine Blessing (L) |
| Somnacanth U | Defeat a Somancanth | 108 | Ice Atk Boost (M)Soul Kinship (M)Elemental Assault (S) |
Thunder Element
| Name | How to Obtain | Defense Value | Skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| Astalos | Defeat an Astalos | 150 | Elemental Assault (L)Stamina Surge (M)Antiparalysis (M) |
| Bone | Available by default | 54 | Non-Elem Atk Boost (S) |
| Fulgur Anja | Defeat an Anjanth | 150 | Item Saver (L)Thunder Atk Boost (L)Weak Point (M) |
| Gypceros U | Defeat a Gypceros | 68 | Vigilance (S)Fortify (S) |
| Gypceros | Defeat Gypceros | 62 | Antivenom (S)Darkness Resistance (S)Thunder Def Boost (S) |
| Khezu U | Defeat a Khezu | 108 | Amtiparalysis (M)Crit-Heal (M) |
| Khezu | Defeat a Khezu | 100 | Thunder Def Boost (M)Self-Heal (M)Anitparalysis (S) |
| Kadachi | Defeat a Tobi-Kadachi | 64 | Thunder Atk Boost (M)Evasion Ability (S) |
| Lagiacrus | Defeat a Lagiacrus | 110 | Thunder Def Boost (M)Soul Kinship (M)Kinship SKill+ (M) |
| Lagiacrus U | Defeat a Lagiacrus | 150 | Thunder AtkBoost (L)All-ElemDef Boost (M)Partbreaker (M) |
| Rey Dau | Defeat a Rey Dau | 150 | Vicious (L)All-Out (M)Elemental Assault (M) |
| Zinogre | Defeat a Zinogre | 150 | Partner (L)Vigilance (M)Wea Point (S) |
Dragon Element
| Name | How to Obtain | Defense Value | Skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bnahabra | Defeat a Bnahabra | 62 | Inflict Rate Up (S)Dragon Def Boost (S) |
| Bishaten | Defeat a Bishaten | 82 | Item Saver (M)All-Out (S) |
| Chatacabra | Defeat a Chatacabra | 62 | Health Boost (S)Item Saver (S)Instigator (S) |
| Ceanataur | Defeat a Ceanataur | 118 | Dancer (M)Partner (M) |
| Nescylla | Defeat a Nerscylla | 64 | Insomniac (S)Inflict Rate Up (M)Anti 1-Hit KO (S) |
| Nerscylla U | Defeat a Nerscylla | 138 | Panacea (M)Evasion Ability (S)Critical (S) |
| Zinogre U | Defeat a Zinogre | 168 | Dragon Atk Boost (XL)Dancer (L)Partner (M) |
After reading those tables, which set will you farm first and who will you pair it with—your fastest kinship hitter or your tankiest fodder?